Be pro-active to get a fair payout on a totalled car
Be pro-active to get a fair payout on a totalled car

If you’ve been in an accident and an insurance company declares your car a total loss, we recommend making sure their valuation and settlement offer are accurate and fair. Earlier this year a District Attorney in Northern California sued two major insurers and two software…
First Steps After a Wildfire
First Steps After a Wildfire

United Policyholders is a nonprofit organization that is a voice and an information resource for insurance consumers in all 50 states.  UP has helped guide disaster survivors on the road to recovery since 1991.  Use this information with The Disaster Recovery Handbook and Household Inventory Guide. …
Strategies for staying protected
Strategies for staying protected

In the past, insurance companies were insuring homes, regardless of their age and condition. That has changed dramatically thanks in part to new technologies that pinpoint risk factors. Many Americans today, particularly those with older homes, are having the unpleasant experience of getting turned down…
How to stay in the know?
How to stay in the know?

Ask any person who’s survived a disaster and they’ll give you solid preparedness advice. UP’s consumer guidance draws heavily on those insights.  And while survivors won’t all agree on what to have in your “go bag,” everyone agrees on the value of timely emergency alerts.…
Bach Talk: Skyfall(out) – Aerial photos impacting property insurance
Bach Talk: Skyfall(out) – Aerial photos impacting property insurance

One of the tools property insurance companies are using to screen potential and existing customers are aerial images captured by satellites and drones of  homes, surroundings and roof conditions.  When the images show damage or hazards, they can trigger a non-renewal or rejected application. This…
GUEST BLOG: Replacement Cost Estimates: A Crucial Aspect of Home Insurance
GUEST BLOG: Replacement Cost Estimates: A Crucial Aspect of Home Insurance

This guest blog was written by Matt Everson, co-owner of BW Builder and a United Policyholders’ professional volunteer.  Has your application at the California Fair Plan stalled? Are you finding it hard to figure out why? It might be because Fair Plan requires a Replacement…
Insured Hawaii wildfire survivors may qualify for FEMA’s Direct Lease Program
Insured Hawaii wildfire survivors may qualify for FEMA’s Direct Lease Program

Insured Hawaii wildfire survivors may qualify for FEMA’s Direct Lease Program even if they have not used up all their ALE/Loss of Use benefits. Generally, if you have homeowner or rental insurance, FEMA requires you to use all your insurance benefits before FEMA is able…
Aerial photos are leading to insurance non-renewals
Aerial photos are leading to insurance non-renewals

InsurTech may not be a buzz word at dinner parties, but it sure is in consumer advocate circles. Turns out, “disruptive” is not such a good thing for property owners and home values, especially with climate change in the mix. Today, insurance companies are using…
Catch UP on Insurance for Repairing Flood Damage with David Maurstad
Catch UP on Insurance for Repairing Flood Damage with David Maurstad

In this Catch UP segment, Amy Bach talks to David Maurstad about Flood Insurance. David Maurstad is FEMA’s Assistant Administrator of Federal Insurance Directorate and Senior Executive of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Catch UP on Roof Damage and Insurance Claims with Sarah Parker
Catch UP on Roof Damage and Insurance Claims with Sarah Parker

In this Catch UP segment, Public Adjuster Sarah Parker shares her insights and expertise on roof damage and insurance claims.
Texas Supreme Court Hears Arguments in a Case With Significant Implications for TWIA Policyholders
Texas Supreme Court Hears Arguments in a Case With Significant Implications for TWIA Policyholders

Yesterday, on February 21, 2024, the Texas Supreme Court heard arguments in the case Texas Windstorm Insurance Association v. Stephen Pruski, Case No. 23-0447, in which Raizner Slania filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of the non-profit organization United Policyholders. Uniquely for both United…
Pet Insurance 101
Pet Insurance 101

If you have a fur baby or pet of any kind, pet insurance will help you avoid getting stuck with a shocking vet bill after an accident, illness or having to put your pet down because you can’t afford treatment. Buying it when your pet…
Bach Talk: CALIFORNIA HOME INSURANCE UPDATE – 2024
Bach Talk: CALIFORNIA HOME INSURANCE UPDATE – 2024

The following is an update on the California home insurance situation from the non-profit consumer organization, United Policyholders, (“UP”).  UP is working hard to help California property owners stay insured and financially protected despite unprecedented availability and affordability challenges in the current marketplace. Insurers are…
Bach Talk: An insured future depends on bold public/private innovation
Bach Talk: An insured future depends on bold public/private innovation

By Amy Bach, Executive Director, United Policyholders So far 2024 has brought more bad news for property owners, public officials, lenders and home builders on the insurance availability and affordability fronts with non-renewals, scant options and high premiums. Front page news across the country. Rate…
Increase your resiliency in the new year…
Increase your resiliency in the new year…

If you own a home, we suggest putting “make risk reduction improvements” on your New Year’s resolution list. Taking steps to make it less likely that severe weather or a wildfire will damage your home is more important than ever. Insurers have added new coverage…
The Mood Swings on Insurer Bad-Faith in Oregon: An Analysis of the Oregon Supreme Court Decision in Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union
The Mood Swings on Insurer Bad-Faith in Oregon: An Analysis of the Oregon Supreme Court Decision in Moody v. Oregon Community Credit Union

The Oregon Supreme Court has long held the legislature did not create a private right of action under the Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Act (ORS 746.230). Policyholders could bring a tort claim against their insurance company only if the insurer was subject to a standard…
Winter 2023 Newsletter
Winter 2023 Newsletter

2023 Highlights: Helped enact new Colorado law to expedite post-wildfire insurance payouts 30+ Roadmap to Recovery® events in California, Colorado, Florida and Hawaii (in-person and online workshops, pro bono clinics and Q&A forums, and Survivor-to-Survivor support forums) 75+ Insurance-focused disaster preparedness public presentations 30+ Pro-consumer…
The Insurance Industry “Cries ‘Wolf!’” About Lawyers
The Insurance Industry “Cries ‘Wolf!’” About Lawyers

Decades of history has taught us that plaintiff’s lawyers are not the primary reason insurance premiums go up or insurance companies fail. But plaintiff’s lawyers are the shiny object that insurance companies point to as an easy answer to a complex problem. Again. There is…